I found a cool website that makes these “wordles”.
Since we’re talking about the Bible, I made one with words that come to mind when I think about the Bible.

What words do you think of when you think about the Bible?

Well, I hope that you have taken the challenge I gave you on Sunday to read the first chapter of the book of John everyday this week. If you haven’t, or if you didn’t know about it, you can read it now. It’ll only take a few minutes. Click here to go to John 1.

After reading verse 1, you might get confused if you don’t know that the word “Word” is actually referring to Jesus. John here echoes Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning…”, but the difference is that John identifies Jesus as existing eternally by using the words “WAS the Word…”. That word “was” shows that Jesus already WAS there before the world, the universe, before anything. And throughout the book of John, he focuses on the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.

Today, I’d like to look at verse 5: “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend (or understand) it.”

Have you ever felt misunderstood? Have you ever felt like what you were saying wasn’t being heard, or appreciated, or agreed with? What was it about?

I recently had one of our students tell me about a time when she shared her belief about something and people got really offended by what she was saying. It’s not that she was trying to be offensive; she was just speaking from her heart and was speaking the truth.

The truth about Jesus can sometimes be an offensive thing. As followers of Jesus, we’re not trying to be offensive. Of course not. But we’re also not supposed to be afraid of speaking the truth because someone might not agree with it.

Where in your life can you live the truth and speak the truth and shine the light, even if “the darkness does not understand it?”

Share your thoughts in the comment section, if you’re willing!

Today was a monumental day. It was the day that my wife and I together walked out to our respective cars and climbed in as we headed off to work. It was monumental because today was my wife’s first day at her new job. So, dressed for success, she got in her van and I (dressed more like a youth pastor) got into my trusty steed: my ’92 Crown Vic.

At the turn of the key, I heard the usual rev of the V8 engine for a split second–and then a loud and omenous “THUD.”

I kid you not–the special moment of us climbing in our cars and heading off to work was interrupted by a *POOF*–a cloud of fine, white hair coming out from under the hood of my car. Not a half a second later, like a bullet, a cat shot out from under the car and scampered into the neighbor’s yard.

Shocked and dazed, I got out (my car still running), opened up the hood and lifted it to see what I’d find. I seriously thought I might see a tail. Upon lifting the hood, another *poof* cloud of white cat hair rose from the revving engine. Despising cats as we do, my wife and I looked at each other with a contented look in our eyes. I thought, “Well, I guess that cat won’t sleep under MY hood again.” And off we went to work.

But later that morning I was on my way to pick up my son for a doctor’s appointment when all of a sudden my engine began to shriek. Checking the gauges, the exhaust, and anything else I could while driving down the road, I didn’t see anything else out of the ordinary, so I decided to keep going (carefully) to my destination. When I got there and opened the hood I found that the serpentine belt was 2/3 of the way shredded and belt shrapnel was all over the inside of the hood, and hanging underneath the car. I thought to myself, “I hate cats.”

So, I limped the car home after cancelling my son’s appointment, and just got a call from my mechanic that the new serpentine belt is going to be $100 installed. I should have asked him if he wanted to trade instead for a used cat.

The first picture here is what’s left of the belt, and the second picture is of another part of the engine…notice the white hair.

I seem more awakened to God’s presence when storms of life arise. Somehow He seems closer when I’m faced with difficulties.

I’ve heard it said this way: “You’re either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or going into a crisis.”

Well, I’m not sure I’m that fatalistic or gray-clouded in my thinking. It’s a little too “Eeyore” for me. But in there is a nugget of truth about how our lives move along. And if you were to read the Bible cover to cover, you’d find that the manifest power and presence of God is most evident to His creation in times of uncertainty, fear, and turmoil. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that it was God who wanted closeness to humans when it was humans who wanted distance from God, after and because of the first sin. It was God who called out “Where are you?” while humans hid because of the turmoil they had found themselves in. I’m understanding of, but likewise weary of people who seem to blame God for their problems and wonder where He is when tough times come. God has always been and will always be EXACTLY where you want Him to be in your life. In our area (Richmond, VA) there is a chain of fitness gyms (maybe worldwide, I don’t know) called “American Family Fitness”. Their slogan is simple and pertinent to us spiritually: “As fit as you want to be.” Just like that simple slogan, God is as near as you want Him to be. As powerful as God is, He will (for now) stay at whatever distance you decide.

That speaks nothing of His power, however. God is not only incredibly powerful, not only is He the most powerful, but He is the author and creator of power. Without Him, there is no power. So, power is not the issue. The issue is our submission to allow God, by His power and grace, to redeem situations that seem unredeemable.

And so it is in the derails of life that we see the hand of God most clearly. Crisis not only brings people closer to each other, but closer to God if they’ll allow it. When we are mindful of His presence, He we are able to see Him work in the midst of our trials.

Imagine if you could see Jesus in flesh and bones in your kitchen when you woke up every morning. Imagine walking into the kitchen and seeing Jesus at the stove fixing you scrambled eggs and some toast. “Good morning, Jesus”, you’d say. He’d look over at you and say, “So, are you ready for another day?” You’d reply, “Well, I’ve got this quiz I’m a little nervous about because I kinda put off studying until late last night, and I’ve known about the quiz for a week.” After some more conversation about the events of the day ahead, Jesus would ask, “So, where do I fit into your day?”

What would your answer be?

Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

You’ve probably heard the expression “blind faith”. When someone uses the term “blind faith”, they usually have this picture of stepping out into nothing, having no evidence in which to put any weight.

But God doesn’t expect you to exhibit any “blind faith” in your walk with Him. In fact, there is plenty of evidence that putting your faith in Christ is not nearly as much of an exercise of faith as something like atheism.

And this coming Sunday (March 8), you’re going to hear a lot of that evidence. Its going to be real, rock-solid fact that you can know that the Bible you read truly is the Word of God. It is authentic, reliable, and true.

Your reading for today is Hebrews 11:1. If you don’t have your Bible handy, you can look it up at www.biblegateway.com and read it there.

After you read that verse in Hebrews, think about and answer these questions:
1. In your own words, what is faith?
2. What kinds of things do you put your faith in everyday, maybe without realizing it?
3. If a friend asked you why you believe in God, or Jesus, or the Bible, what would you say?

Click on the comment link below and share your thoughts!

I have been home more in the last 3 days than I would typically be–all thanks to the thick blanket of snow and ice that has covered our land and rendered us homebound. That is, of course unless you have a 4-wheel drive or at least nerves of steel for driving on ice. I have the latter, but not the former.

I’m the proud owner of a 1992 Crown Victoria; a retired police car actually. It’s got a huge V8 engine in it that just roars at the tap on the gas pedal. It’s a beast and boy does it move! (Not that I would know.) So, once I got my driveway shoveled out and had a clear path from my parking spot to the street I live on, I ventured out.

I made out from my driveway onto my street okay even though my street hadn’t been touched by plows, and even drove myself to the corner where my road meets the nearest “secondary” road that had been plowed and cleared. But my problem started the moment I stopped at the stop sign. And if I may, I’d like to connect the dots on a spiritual truth here. The trouble USUALLY starts the moment we stop. When we stop in our sense of awe of God. When we stop connecting with God in worship with others, when we stop talking with God about the daily stuff of life, when we stop turning to Him for comfort, guidance, wisdom, strength, and peace; when we stop our interaction with God, and when we stop being thankful…that’s when trouble starts.

So there I was at the stop sign. Looked left–clear. Looked right–clear. Looked left again–still clear. I began to press on the gas pedal and I outside my window I heard a faint “zzzzZZZZZZ”. Oh no. The incline at the end of my road leading to the main road was just enough to get my car stuck in one stop–wheels spinning: zzzzZZZZZZZZzzzz. There I was with one of the most powerful engines on the road…going nowhere.

I had lost traction.

And not only that, now there was a truck behind me. I watched his eyes get really big when I put my Crown Vic in reverse and started heading his direction. I turned the wheel and went around him, continuing to back up the street. I thought to myself, “I just need a bit of a running start and I’ll be fine.” So I got half a block away from the corner and put it back into drive. With extreme caution and care, I made it through the corner and onto the main road with very little slipping that time. And off I went to work.

Traction is a powerful thing. You can have a V8 engine under your hood, but unless you’ve got traction, you’re going nowhere fast.

How can you find traction as a Christian today? How can you make sure that your spirit is making contact with the path that God has designed for you to travel on? It might be in a way that you’re not expecting! Take a look at these verses:

Colossians 1:11-12 “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.”

The key to traction in your spiritual life is not effort, not trying harder, not knowing more, not giving more, and not believing more. It begins with the attitude of thankfulness to God for who He is, what He has done, and what He means to you. Just like everything God does flows from His love, everything we do flows from our sense of thankfulness. Think about it. If you aren’t thankful for something, you won’t care for it. If you aren’t thankful for a relationship in your life, you won’t invest in it and nurture it. It just makes sense.

So, read again those two verses in Colossians. And notice all that comes from “always thanking the Father”: power, endurance, patience, strength, and joy. In other words: traction. It all hinges on how thankful you are to God for who He is and what He has done for you.